The last time the America's Royale Miss organization sponsored a pageant, little JonBenet Ramsey was front and center, sweeping the competition in the Tiny Miss category.
On Saturday, in the organization's first event since her slaying, at least 40 girls ages 3 to 16 will compete, and each will receive a guardian angel pin in memory of the little girl found strangled in her home the day after Christmas."We felt we had to start the healing process for kids and families. We felt we had to begin again," said Suzie Doland, who along with her husband, Wayne, organizes Colorado competitions for America's Royale Miss pageant.
Last year, JonBenet won beauty and talent crowns at the state level and won at the national level in the Tiny Miss beauty category, for girls ages 4 to 6, and placed among the top five overall for talent.
By age 6, golden-haired JonBenet also had been named 1995 Little Miss Colorado, Little Miss Charlevoix (Mich.), Colorado State All-Star Kids Cover Girl and National Tiny Miss Beauty.
On Dec. 26, she was found strangled in the basement of her family's Boulder home. No suspects have been named and no arrests have been made.
JonBenet's death was a blow to the Dolands and others involved in child beauty pageants, stung by critics' charges that the pageants stress looks over other qualities and teach young girls to be precocious.
"We stress a winning attitude, but not winning," Suzie Doland said.